Phonograph



A. K. BOWMAN.

PHONOGRAPH.-

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 2. 1921.

1,436,790. Pmnw Nw- 28,1922,

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INVENTOR ,4//0n A. Bowman ATTORNEY Patented tier. 2%, 1922.

ALLAN K. BOWMAN, OF WILKINSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

PHONOGRAPH.

Application filed June 2, 1921.

To all whom it may concern;

Be it known that I, ALLAN K. BOWMAN, a citizen of the United States, anda resident or lVilkinsburg, in the county of Allegheny and State ofPennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Phonographs,of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to phonographs and other talking-machines and ithas special reference to the turntables of such machines upon which discrecords are placed for reproducing purposes.

In the prior art, considerable difficulty and annoyance has been causedby the necessity of very accurately placing disc records upon the centerpost that is customarily provided, whereby considerable time has beenlost by juggling or exactly positioning the disc.

Furthermore, the customary turntable construction of cloth-covered metalis not such as to bring out or enhance the sound tones,

so that the best quality of music can not be obtained from phonographsas at present constructed.

In addition, considerable difficulty and annoyance has been experiencedin the removal of discs after the record has been played, since it isnecessary to force ones fingernail or some othertobject between the discand the cloth-covered table.

One object of my invention is to provide record-centering means forphonographs and the like that is absolutely independent of any necessityfor central engagement, such as the usual center post. I employperipherally located. shoulders, or elevated portions, for enclosing andaccurately positioning discs of various sizes. Consequently, a recordmay be very readily and always accurately slid into its properdepression or seat within the corresponding shoulders. In fact, it isentirely practicable to accurately position a disc upon a turntableconstructed in accordance with my present invention without requiringany light or any particular skill.

Another object of my invention is to construct phonograph turntables ofsuch material that suitable resonance or other soundenhancingproperties, such as purification and intensification, are inherentlyprovided, to the marked improvement of the general rendition of therecord, whereby the enjoyment derived therefrom may be materiallyincreased, since the music tones themselves Serial No. 474,361.

are more clearly brought out and emphasized, whereas the disagreeablescratching sound that occurs in connection with the playing of so manyrecords is reduced to a practicallynegligible value. I find that aturntable constructed of glass, or similar vitreous material, enhancesthe above requirements and constitutes a most valuable improvement overthe present forms of turntables.

Still another object or my invention is to provide means for preventingloose needles, and the like, from being thrown oil the rotatlngturntable into other parts of the machine.

A further object of my invention is to provide suitable finger-receivingopenings in connection with the depressions in my turn table thatcorrespond to various sizes of discs, whereby a record of any size maybe readily removed without any particular attentlon or exertion upon thepart of the operator.

Qther objects of my invention will become evident from the followingdescription, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, whereinFigure 1 is a top-plan view of a phonograph turntable constructed inaccordance with my present invention;

Fig. 2 is a view of the reverse or bottom side of the table; and

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view, taken along the broken linesII-II of Figs. 1 and 2. a

Referring to the figures in detail, the structure here shown comprises aphonograph turntable, preferably integrally constructed o1 glass, or thelike, having a plurality of shoulders or elevated portions 1, 1, 2, 3and 4 located in different planes and at successively greater distancesfrom the center of the turntable. The shoulder or elevated portion alsoforms the periphery or outer rim of the table.

By means of these shoulders or barriers 1. l 2, 3 and 4-, a series ofcircular depressions or seats of relatively shallow depth andrespectively numbered 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9, are provided, beingconcentrically located and the latter four being preferably of suchdiameters as to respectively receive and accurately position standard orstock sizes oi record discs, such as 5%", 7", 10 and 12", respectively.However, it will be understood that any other size of disc may bereadily taken. care of by suitable design of the turntable.

It will be noted that the central depression or seat 5 forms acontinuous circular area in a plane that is located below the next adjacent depression 6 preferably by a distance commensurate with thethickness of the average disc. The annular depression 6 in turn islocated below the next annular depression 7, etc, by a correspondingdistance, as will be understood.

Extending from the outer edge of the table entirely across the annulardepression 9 and into the annular depression 8 to suit-- able orconvenient degree, are a plurality of finger-receiving slots or openings10, which are preferably located substantially 90 apart, for permittingready removal of the 10 and the 12 discs.

For a similar purpose with respect to the smaller depressions or seats 6and 7, a plurality of equally-spaced finger-receiving grooves or hollows11 are provided.

The hollows 11, as best shown in Fig. 3, extend under the edges of theseats 6 and 7, thereby facilitating the removal of the 54; and the 7records. The hollows 11 are preferably staggered in location withrespect to the openings 10, as illustrated.

However, it will be understood that the number and, therefore, thelocation of the finger-receiving openings 10 and 11 is not material tothe present invention and any suitable quantity may be provided,although four is believed to be a suflicient number to permit the easyremoval of any size of record without requiring any particular reachingon the part of the operator, no matter in what position the turntablemay stop.

The bottom side, (see Fig. 2) of the turntable is provided with asuitable central hub 12 having an appropriate opening or hole 13 forreceiving the upper portion of the rotating spindle, which may besecured to the turntable in any convenient manner, as by a key.

A reinforced or thickened portion 14 of the turn-table extends from thehub 12 to points beyond the linger-receiving hollows 11, whereby thenecessary strength and resistance is provided in the vicinity of thesehollow spaces, as is clearly shown in Fig. 3.

To maintain a fairly uniform thickness of the turntable, and thusprovide the necessary quality of strength without undue weight or bulk,the outer portion of the bottom side of the turntable is stepped, asindicated at 15.

In order to shut out the view of the mechanism beneath the turntable andto permit the more ready placement of the records by accentuating theposition of the various shoulders I, 2, 3 and 4C, the bottom side of theturntable is preferably rendered opaque by being sanded, or frosted, asindicated by the corresponding legend in Fig. 2.

The operation of my invention may be described as follows: l/Vhateversize of record is selected, may be easily and quickly slid into theproper position, that is, into engagement with the far side of thecorresponding shoulders or barriers 1, 2, 3 or at, and the record thenmerely dropped into its proper location or seat. Thus the carefulpositioning or juggling that is necessary in connection with thecenterpost of phonographs, as now built, is entirely obviated in myinvention. In fact, the record may be readily placed in playing positionin a darkened room.

The disc closely adheres to the glass turntable and no chattering orslipping is expert enced. In fact, the provision of an open space, asthe depression 5 beneath the 5-3; record, for example, appears to assistin enhancing the quality of the tones, and, at the same time, thevibration of parts apparently causes a magnetic attraction beneath thehard rubber of the record and the glass of the turntable, thus stillfurther acting to prevent any tendency to slip.

Furthermore, the inherent qualities of the glass material are such thatthe musical sounds are more clearly brought out and purified andintensified, than is the case with the present metallic turntablescovered with cloth.

After the record has been played, it may be quickly removed without anyannoyance or particular effort by merely sliding a finger into thenearest opening 10 or 11, as the case may be, dependent upon the. sizeof the record played.

If, for any reason, a needle or the like falls upon the turntable at anytime, it will not be thrown 0E the revolving table into other parts ofthe machine, since the shoulders 2, 3 or 4 will serve to catch theneedle and efi'ectively prevent this undesirable feature, which occurswith the Hat turntables now used.

t will thus be seen that I have provided. a turntable for phonographsand the like, whereby a record may be accurately posh tioned with theleast possible annoyance and'delay. During the playing of the record,the musical or vocal tones are improved in quality and clearness, andafter the record has been played it may be very easily and rapidlyremoved. Furthermore, loose. needles, and the like, are prevented frombeing thrown off the turntable into the other parts of the machine,where they might work lI'lJllIY.

Although I have described my invention in its present preferredembodiment, I do not wish to be restricted to the specific structuraldetails, location of parts, or materials set forth, as variousmodifications thereof may be made without departing from the spirit andscope of my invention. it desire, therefore, that only such limitationsshall be imposed as are indicated in the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A turntable for phonographs and the like having a plurality offunctionally inde pendent stationary means for positively centeringrecords.

2. A turntable for phonographs and the like having a plurality ofdifferently-sized circumferentially-located stationary means forpositively centering records.

3. A turntable for phonographsand the like having plural stationarymeans independent of central engagements for respectively alonepositioning records of various sizes.

4. A turntable for phonographs and the like having a plurality ofshoulders for alone centering records of different sizes.

5. A turntable for phonographs and the like having a plurality ofperipherally located integral shoulders respectively of substantiallythe same size as a plurality of given records.

6. A turntable for phonographs and the like provided With a plurality ofrigid circumferential portions for respectively positioning records ofdifferent sizes.

7. A turntable for phonographs and the like having a plurality ofdepressions of difi'erent sizes for respectively closely surrounding andalone centering a plurality of variously-sized records.

8. A turntable for phonographs and the like having a plurality of spacedopenings piercing the outer edge perpendicular to the plane of theturntable for permitting easy manual removal of a record.

9. A turntable for phonographs and the like having a plurality ofdepressions corresponding to differently-sized records, and a pluralityof spaced openings extending from the outer edge of the turntable intothe smaller depression.

10. A turntable for phonographs and the like having a plurality ofconcentrically-located depressions in different planes for respectivelyreceiving records of various sizes, and a plurality of openingsextending from the inner depression to the outer edge of the turntableto permit insertion of a finger for ready removal of either size of rec-0rd.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name this 18th dayof May,

ALLAN K. BOWMAN.

